### Chapter 157: Clearing the Fog (Part 2)
“Silgaya…”
“Yes, Silgaya.”
Angel nodded gently and took a sip of red wine, smacking his lips… He was practically chugging the bottle like it was water, but somehow, he didn’t look the slightest bit tipsy. A few drops trickled down the side of the glass, landing on his chest, but the Pope merely patted it away, completely disregarding any semblance of decorum—his appearance was just as sloppy as a street vendor’s.
“What’s up? Little Margaret didn’t tell you?” He raised an eyebrow, looking a bit surprised.
“…She mentioned it.”
I remembered now.
Margaret did tell me about a bunch of heretics sailing to Silgaya… what island did she say again?
Slap.
Suddenly, Angel pulled out a report from under the table and tossed it in front of me.
“Take a look.”
What…
I reached for the report and unfolded it on the table, the glaring headline leaping out at me:
”The Defense of Mosley Coast Commenced the Day Before Yesterday”
I felt a jolt of shock.
So it has already begun…
Unable to resist, I began reading the contents below: The brutal heretics are attempting to invade our lands, threatening to destroy the home we’ve tirelessly built. They journey from the wild Eastern Continent, believing in the power of demons, and foolishly wish to use this power to enslave us and feast upon our flesh to strengthen themselves.
Faced with evil, the Holy Church must respond without hesitation. The Third Knights Legion has mobilized, joining forces with the stationed Sixth Knights Legion, setting sail to confront the evil heretics. The Sword Demon Anna Silis has sharpened her blade, and the massive Rabil has built bridges on the sea. These two dazzling heroes will lead a fearless band of Church Knights to intercept the vile heretics overseas, signaling not just the first but the last fight to defend Silgaya’s territory.
In the name of the divine, we swear we will achieve final victory.
The righteous battle has begun, with heroes fighting evil at sea. Citizens of Silgaya, no need to panic! Follow the clergy’s arrangements, and if you live near the coast, try not to go out…
The rest was just a dense list of guidelines, filling an entire page, and I didn’t have the heart to read any further.
So…
I looked up at Angel, who was starting to doze off waiting for me. “So this is the heretics’ goal?”
They want to take over Silgaya?
No way…
“The Land of Dragons…”
“Exactly, exactly.”
With the wine glass empty and barely anything left in the bottle, Angel shoved the goblet aside, grabbed the wine bottle, and glugged down two big gulps, wiping his mouth afterward.
“If our deduction is correct, those heretics are ultimately aiming for Woodward Forest. They’re trying to find the legendary Land of Dragons sealed by the Deities for some unknown purpose.”
Woodward Forest…
Big White.
I couldn’t help but glance back at the report, feeling the stirring of its sensational rhetoric while the taste of the meat pie lingered in my mouth—yet, somehow, I couldn’t shake off the unease.
If any of these heretics can activate the “bl**d Sacrifice”…
At this thought, I knitted my brows and turned my gaze back to Angel. “Is the Church going to be alright?”
“I don’t know.”
Angel shrugged.
Wait, what? My eyes widened. “You don’t know?”
Wasn’t Margaret supposed to assure us everything was fine? You’re the Pope! You can’t be uncertain about this!
As if he sensed my incredulity, Angel tapped the table, looking utterly exasperated. “I’ve sent all the clergy I could mobilize. If I hadn’t, those scoundrels wouldn’t have had the chance to seize control in the Royal City… Teresa was supposed to be in charge, and I intended to send Nero over there directly, but he just had to mess things up and ended up getting himself killed—it’s a complete disaster for me to sort out! What am I supposed to do?!”
“All the plans fell through—so I had to come myself… The Second Knights Legion, which was supposed to reinforce us, has fallen into utter chaos. Their commander will face judgment soon for assaulting Her Majesty the Saint… The Fourth Knights Legion is en route to deal with the Royal City coup, aiding Her Majesty the Queen in consolidating her power. As for the Fifth Knights Legion… they’re in the Valen Empire, doing whatever—I’m sure you can guess what that entails… So—”
“Wait, wait!” I interrupted hastily, putting my hands firmly on the table and locking my eyes onto Angel’s face. I wasn’t going to let him brush me off easily. “You just mentioned the Fifth Knights Legion is in the Valen Empire… doing what?”
As I spoke, I leaned closer, my gaze unyielding, even ignoring my half-eaten pie, adopting the most serious demeanor possible.
“Little Black Charcoal, you…”
Angel rubbed his cheek, wearing an increasingly helpless expression, his gaze starting to wiggle away from mine.
“Oh come on, don’t fret! The Fifth Knights Legion won’t support either side; they just need to ensure the safety of the citizens once the war breaks out…”
Before he could finish, I interrupted him again. “They’re on my father’s side.”
“Not really. The Holy Church is impartial, and won’t favor either side.”
“I think they are.”
“……”
Angel outright went silent, turning his head aside like a stubborn child.
I leaned closer, “So, is it or isn’t it?”
“…Fine, fine! Okay? I admit it! The Fifth Knights Legion is indeed gone… you know what I mean? Just don’t ask anymore! The royal family has been suspected of colluding with the Gate of Truth, and I’m considering many factors here. Some things are not as transparent…”
Angel scratched his head in frustration, finished the last sip of wine, and casually tossed the empty bottle on the ground—clang—it rolled off far away.
“Sit down… this matter must stay under wraps. Otherwise…”
“Got it, got it.”
I nodded with a grin, feeling a bit better watching the Pope fretting.
Of course, this wasn’t something that could just be blabbed about.
The Church has to maintain an image of “justice and integrity” among the people. If the other nobles or even higher-ups within the Church caught wind of this, his troubles would multiply…
At that thought, I suddenly found Angel far more palatable.
Though I had no idea what kind of deal he and my father struck, there must have been some conspiracy between them, and Carlos, the middleman, certainly did his part… Fine.
I’ll let his sausage incident slide—consider it cleared off the ledger!
“Let’s put aside the Valen Empire for now and return to Silgaya… The knights I can mobilize are only the Third Legion and the Sixth Legion, which brings our total to around sixteen thousand knights, led by Nick Williams, plus a couple of Pope Knights… I think it should be manageable… But really, there should have been more going over… Little Black Charcoal, do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded, adopting a serious demeanor and wiping the crumbs from my mouth, reaching for the last meat pie on the plate.
Angel hesitated for a moment, pretending not to notice my action, then continued, “According to my initial plan, I was supposed to involve the Third, Sixth, Seventh Knights Legion and even the Second Knights Legion that handled the obliteration of the Oblivion Abyss—all those were meant to reinforce Silgaya. But in the end, only the Third Legion managed to reach the coast. The others faced some obstructions.”
Oblivion… Ah, referring to Iliush, huh?
“So…”
“Teresa even anticipated the emergence of the Abyss?”
I pouted, looking at Angel in disbelief.
No way…
Even if Teresa was savvy, how could she foresee such an unknown presence? That’s just not logical…
But Angel, upon hearing my words, slowly nodded.
“This is the second thing I wanted to tell you, Little Black Charcoal…”
He opened a drawer beneath the table, rummaging around before pulling out a delicate, gold-embellished silk box, sliding it to me.
“Open it.”
I looked confused. “What’s this…?”
“Just open it and see.”
…Fine.
I balanced the half-eaten meat pie between my teeth, clapped my hands to shake off the excess crumbs, and picked up the box, unbuckling it and lifting the lid.
The moment I saw what was inside, a feeling surged through me—whether it was electric shock or coldness, I couldn’t tell. A buzz resonated in my head, leaving me blank; shockwaves rolled in my chest. My eyes widened, mouth agape, the meat pie falling unnoticed to the ground as I trembled, putting the box down and taking a few deep breaths.
Then I looked up, locking my gaze onto Angel’s handsome face, speechless.
Inside the box wasn’t anything super scary or incomprehensible.
It was just a pill.
A bl**d-red pill the size of a fingernail.
